TDL S2
by O'Bryan XYZ
Summary: Your favorite forensic team is back for another season of jokes, crimes, and Cam-bashing, so be ready! And the Jeffersonian will be joined by a new character, as well! So much fun! :D
1. Chapter 1

TDL Season 2 Chapter One: "The reunion of the Jeffersonian team"

One year ago tomorrow, the Jeffersonian team parted their separate ways. Some to dig holes, have babies, shoot criminals, and ruin laboratory reputations. Things will definitely not be the same tomorrow, but you'll see whether or not those changes are good or Cam…

The Maluku airfield…

Bones and the interns are boarding the plane. Their clothes are all dirty and torn. Chris and Duncan collapse immediately in their seats, Izzy pulls out a book called "A thousand random stories", and Owen grabs the whole food cart from the waitress. Bones sits down and sighs. Their trip was pretty Cam, they didn't really find anything relating to early man.

Meanwhile, in an Afghanistan airport…

Booth is heading for the plane. A tall, blonde woman runs up behind him in handcuffs. Two officers come up and grab her, but Booth tells them to wait a second.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let you leave without my good-bye." The woman says.

"It's fine." Booth says and smiles. He kisses her.

The arresting officers drag the woman back. Booth turns and boards the plane quickly.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' house…

Hodgins and Angela are watching their six month old son sleep in his crib. Michael Hodgins twists a little bit and wakes up. Angela picks him up and rocks him. Hodgins prepares the bottle for him.

Meanwhile, at the Jeffersonian….

Cam is in her office filling out some paper work. The paper she's filling out is her application to work as a cop. Next to it is an injunction by the FBI to shut down the lab for lack of credibility with murder investigations. The phone rings and Cam picks it up.

"Dr. Camille Saroyan of the Jeffersonian." She says.

The next day, at the Jeffersonian lab…

Hodgins walks up to the empty lab table. He hears something and looks at the door to his left. Bones and Owen walk in and meet with Hodgins. They all hug and say how much they missed each other.

"So Dr. Brennan, have you talked to Booth yet?" Hodgins asks.

"No, I'm not going to. But, I'm eager to see Angela. Is she here today?" Bones asks.

"No, she's watching Michael today. She'll be in later when Michael's with her dad. So, is Cam here? I noticed that everyone is gone. I hope she didn't ruin the lab like we all thought."

Booth walks in and heads over to the gang. Bones forces herself to hug him. Hodgins and Owen pat him on the shoulder.

"So, has anyone seen Cam? This place is pretty empty." Booth says.

Owen sniffs the air. "Do you guys smell ocean water and hair spray, or is it just me?" Owen asks.

Cam walks in the door and is surprised to see them all there.

"When did you all get back?" she asks and walks to them.

"Not too long ago." Bones says.

"Oh, well, I'm proud to tell you all that I did not ruin the lab, despite your complete faith in my abilities. By the way, there's been a murder. Gwen is wheeling in the body now. Now, degree of scavenging suggests the victim was murdered over a year ago. Also, the types of scavenging varied from wolf jaws to seagulls. This person was killed and then set to sea to drift until found."

"Wow, great job Owen!" Hodgins slaps Owens arm.

"Yes, I find Owen's olfactory acuity to be very impressive." Bones adds on. "But, why is Gwen helping you?"

"Well, I was a little short staffed. Harold took over Dr. Hodgins position, and Gwen was the only qualified forensic scientist and forensic artist in the area. She took over for Dr. Brennan's and Angela's jobs. It was the only thing I could do."

Gwen walks in with the body. There's pretty much just bones left. Most of the flesh is stripped away.

"Hey, guys. Glad to see you again." Gwen says and places the body on the table with Owens help.

"Gwen, nice hair spray." He says.

"I don't use hair spray." Gwen says and her and Owen look at the body.

"Dr. B!" They both exclaim. Bones walks over to them.

"What have you found out?"

"The wounds have hair spray embedded in them." Owen says.

"I'll take samples and check for what type of hair spray." Hodgins does that and heads to his office.

"I'll start on the facial reconstruction." Gwen grabs a pencil and paper.

"Owen, let's assess and catalog the damages." Bones says.

"Bones, don't you want to investigate the murder scene with me?" Booth asks.

"No, I have work to do here. Take Cam, she's earned a trip to the field."

"Thank you, Dr. Brennan." Cam says confused and looks at Booth. Booth shrugs his shoulders and leaves. Cam follows after him.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Hodgins put the swab sample into the mass spectrometer. Sweets walks in quietly and tries to surprise Hodgins. He gets right behind him.

"Hey, Sweets." Hodgins turns to him.

"Forget that happened. Anyway, how was Paris?" Sweets asks.

"It was nice. We had to leave early because of Angela's pregnancy. She insisted on having the baby here, so we did."

"Congratulations!" Sweets laughs and pats Hodgins' arm.

Meanwhile, at the crime scene…

Booth and Cam are at the beach where the body was found. They board the boat.

"Ok, Booth, this was probably some sort of ritual murder, so look for certain markers. Candles, altars, painted symbols, you get the picture." Booth gives her a weird look. "While you all were gone, we had at least five ritualistic deaths to deal with. This seems like one of them." Booth shrugs and Cam takes the lead.

Cam looks into the first room to the right. She opens the door and rats run out. She squeals and jumps back. Booth heads past the rats and into the room. He shines a flashlight on and he covers his mouth. Cam peeks in and flinches.

"Well, does this count as a ritual murder?" Booth says and shines the light on the other three victims on the floor of the room.

Meanwhile, at the lab table…

Bones and Owen have just finished cataloging the injuries. Gwen announces she's done with the sketch and heads to get a hit off of missing persons. Hodgins walks past her excited.

"Guys, you won't believe this!" he exclaims. "The victim was cut with a hair spray coated blade. The blade was just sharp enough to break the skin, but not to slice it open. The killer wanted the chemicals in the spray to be introduced to the bloodstream, but not to be washed out by a flow of blood from a severe cut. Whoever this guy is, he's good."

"But why would the killer want hair spray to be in the victim's bloodstream?" Bones asks.

"It was a plastic-based hair spray which contains copolymers with vinyl acetate and maleic anhydride, which sometimes repels snakes. I'm sure we'll learn why he did that, I'm sure."

Booth and Cam walk up with an FBI team wheeling the other three bodies behind them.

"Maybe it was because the rats were relaxed with no snakes around. The rats on the boat ate the other victims alive. The hemorrhagic staining shows they tried to fight off the rats for several hours before it was too much." Cam says.

"We sent a text of their skulls to Gwen already so she can give us identity. In the mean time, we need you brainiacs to figure out if these victims have the same wounds as her there." Booth points to the body on the lab table.

"Great, this killer is smart and annoying." Hodgins says.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

TDL Season 2 Chapter Two: "The new killer in D.C."

The gang is all standing silently after Booth's harsh statement. Gwen and Owen place the other three bodies on the lab. The two of them, along with Dr. Brennan, start their examinations. Cam takes some samples of the flesh and heads to the autopsy lab and Hodgins swabs the other victims' wounds and heads to his lab. Booth heads to Angela's office.

Meanwhile, in Angela's office…

Gwen is struggling to access missing persons and Booth walks in.

"What's the problem?" he asks, annoyed.

"I can't operate this thing for some reason. It's like it's been bugged up!" Gwen exclaims.

"Stop!" Booth yells. "If it's been bugged, than there's only one person who can fix it. Sit tight." Booth pulls out his phone and calls someone.

Meanwhile, at the lab table…

Bones, Owen, and Gwen are finishing up the examination.

"All these wounds are located at different points, but I can still smell the same hair spray in the cuts as with the first victim." Owen says. "Along with the cuts from the killer's blade, there are smaller scratches on the bone, congruent with the claws of the rats. Dr. B, don't you think the rats will have evidence needed to solve the murder?" Owen asks.

"No, the hair spray is still toxic when ingested, even to rats, so there's no point. They'll be dead by the time they become of any use. Besdies, the killer probably wants us to waste time on that." Bones says and turns around to see Hodgins walk up.

"The hair spray in the wounds was the same. The only difference was that these victims also had rat vomit in their wounds. The scent is almost undetectable to humans, which is why Owen probably didn't know already." Hodgins walks to Owen's side. "So, we just need Cam to determine the sex of the victims."

"Oh, I've determined the sex of all the victims is female. Cam is too slow, and we can't wait on her tests to come to conclusions. Now, we just need the identities from Booth and Gwen." Bones says.

Meanwhile, in Angela's lab…

Angela walks in with Michael in her arms.

"Hey, Gwen, mind holding Michael while I fix the bug?" Angela asks.

"Sure." Gwen grabs Michael from her.

Angela takes the controller and starts to clear up the screen. "It's just a simple bug. There was an overlying frequency based virus that was blocking the server, but unless we can determine the full frequency piece by piece, it'll keep coming back. When it does, just call me." Angela fiddles with the controller some more and the missing persons has a match. "The first victims name is Kimmy Edith."

"Wait, that name sounds familiar." Booth pulls a picture out of his pocket. "This is the daughter of the guy who was wolf food. She went missing over a year ago. Why is her body turning up now with three other victims?" Booth asks.

The three of them sit and ponder possible answers to that question.

"Anyway, Gwen, did you finish the facial reconstructions of the other three victims?" Booth asks.

"Yeah, the drawings are over there on the table." Gwen points to them. Angela picks them up and starts searching missing persons again.

Meanwhile, in the autopsy lab…

Cam takes off her bloody gloves and throws them in the trash. Sweets walks in and gives Cam a hard stare.

"Is there something wrong, Sweets?" Cam asks.

"Dr. Saroyan, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but the FBI told me to secretly observe your performance over the year that the others were gone. You failed to acknowledge the injunction they issued you, and therefore they've asked me to give you this warning. They have hired a new coroner to take up the head position of the lab, and you have until the end of the month to find another job." Sweets says.

"You aren't serious, are you?"

"I'm afraid I am. I'm sorry, Dr. Saroyan, but you just weren't as useful as the others to the investigations the bureau had. Good luck finding another job." Sweets says and walks to the door. He turns around and looks at her one more time before exiting the room.

Meanwhile, at the lab table…

Angela, Sweets and Booth walk up to the table to join the others.

"Guys, you are not going to believe this!" Angela exclaims.

Back in Angela's office…

The gang all look at the screen and are all shocked by the images.

"Is this true?" Bones says.

"Yes, these two girls are the ones from the case where the cheerleader was murdered and they vanished. This third victim here, her name is Heather. She was a high school bully of girls she deemed ugly or losers. She was the prime suspect in the murder of four girls in her high school. She was never convicted, but she disappeared two months later. All these crimes happened last year, and their bodies turned up just yesterday. The only connection is that they were all involved in murder cases." Angela says.

"So, the murderer of these past murder case involved people, ended up murdered themselves? I think this is some weird vigilante career gone totally wrong." Hodgins says.

"You mean like the Punisher?" Owen asks.

"Exactly."

"Well, whoever this guy thinks he is. He's eventually going down." Booth says sharply.

Suddenly, the screen acts up and a guy in an apron and gas mask appears. The team all react differently to the man before them.

"Hello, Jeffersonian scum! I am Chef! I am the one who killed the girls currently on your lab table, and I'll let you know this! I am still going to keep killing! If you wish to stop me, then you better bring your A game!"

"You think you scare us, pal?" Booth asks threateningly.

"I don't have to scare you, just offering you a challenge of sorts! If you don't catch me in the next year, then you never will!" Chef exclaims. "Oh, by the way, I'm in D.C., so expect to see more from me! I'll remove the bug, but we'll stay in touch!" Chef's image disappears and the screen goes back to normal.

The gang all look at each other and know that this new guy will be a problem.


	3. Chapter 3

TDL Season 2 Chapter Three: "The clues on the page"

Bones and Hodgins walk up to the new crime scene which is full of FBI agents. The body is placed on a blue mat. Hodgins and Bones walk up to a new face.

"Hi, I'm agent Perotta. Booth asked me to assist you on this case while he's dealing with some home issues apparently." She says and shakes both their hands.

Meanwhile, in Booth's apartment…

The blanket on Booth's bed is rustling. Suddenly, he and the blonde woman from before emerge from underneath and kiss. They look at each other, smile, and kiss again.

Meanwhile, at the crime scene…

Bones and Hodgins kneel over the body and look it over carefully.

"So, what do you have?" Perotta asks.

"We just started. Give us a few seconds." Hodgins snaps at her slightly.

"Hodgins, is everything ok?" Bones asks him.

"No, Michael's refusing to sleep. Angela had to stay at home with him again today."

"Umm, the body?" Perotta asks to get them back on focus.

"Some patience please, agent Perotta." Bones stands to look her in the eyes. Perotta flinches from Bones a little. "The victim is female, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen based of the spreading of her vaginal region, and suffered bruising to the mandible, ribs, and the parietal bones have slight fractures on both sides from what looks to be from similar amounts of applied force. The hemorrhagic staining along the multitude of bones suggests the victim was alive when killed."

Perotta is dumb founded in the crime scene.

"Was that fast enough, agent Perotta?" Bones says snapping at her.

Meanwhile, at the lab table…

Bones, Hodgins, Cam, and Izzy are all around the body. Hodgins swabs the areas around each of the wounds and walks to his lab. Izzy and Bones examine the remains more thoroughly, and Cam is just standing to the side.

Izzy stops along the frontal area of the parietal bone. "Dr. Brennan, the remodeling in this area here is un-evident. There is a crack here, suggesting the victim had a broken nose. But, whatever broke their nose didn't stop there." Bones comes over to take a look for herself. "If you look through the eye orbits, you'll see there is a slight knick in the back of the skull's interior. I can't determine what could have caused it without removing the top of the skull."

"Excellent work, Izzy." Bones turns to Cam. "There are signs of hemorrhagic staining near where the knick is. I need you to take the remains and remove the skull and determine if the victim was subjected to any substances. After you're done, us real doctors will determine cause of death."

Cam gives Bones a hard stare before taking the body to the autopsy lab.

Meanwhile, in Angela's office…

Gwen is rocking baby Hodgins to sleep. Angela is fiddling with her controller.

"What are you doing?" Gwen asks as she puts Michael in his crib.

"I'm slowly figuring out each piece of frequency that Chef guy used to give us the bug. Luckily, before he deleted it, I saved a copy of the data, along with the actual recording. Once I figure out the whole sequence he used, I can trace it back to whatever computer he used to launch the bug and we will have our murderer." Angela says.

"That sounds cool." Perotta says as she walks in unannounced.

"Who are you?" Angela turns and cuts off her screen.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm agent Perotta, Booth's replacement for today."

"Replacement?" Gwen asks.

"It's nothing. Anyway, we have a body. Booth said you two are good at facial reconstructions."

"I'll take this one, Angela." Gwen walks past the two of them.

Meanwhile, in the autopsy lab…

Cam just finishes cutting off the top of the skull and swabs the blood for testing. Hodgins walks in with a small tray in his hand.

"Let me guess, here to give me a nice good-bye too?" she asks sarcastically.

"Yes, actually." He says and Cam looks at him, completely surprised. "To prove it, I'm actually coming to you with news first, other than to Dr. Brennan. I tested the particulates in the wounds and they all had slight flakes and shavings of metal. Although, the wound that initially killed the victim had traces of metal that were much warmer than usual, like it was heated before piercing the victim." Hodgins says.

Cam thinks over his words for a few seconds and her face lights up. "I know how our victim died!" She runs out of the lab and Hodgins follows her.

Meanwhile, at the lab table…

Cam and Hodgins walk up to the others. Gwen is busy working on the facial reconstruction. Angela and agent Perotta appear right after them.

"Dr. Saroyan, where are my bones?" Bones asks harshly.

"I have figured out cause of death. The victim was subjected to mummification." Cam says and everyone but Izzy gasps.

"That reminds me of the time-" Izzy starts.

"Not now, Izzy," Cam orders. "That would explains the hemorrhagic staining all over the bones and why the flesh and organs were not present upon the remains being found. The heated metal that Hodgins found in the cause of death wound were the remnants of the rod used to pull the victim's brain out. This has ritual killing written all over it."

"Hmmm, nice work." Bones says silently.

An officer walks up to the steps by the lab table with a cart covered with a blanket.

"This was told to be delivered to the Jeffersonian. The request was anonymous. Sign here, please." The man says. Perotta steps down and signs it. The man leaves right away.

Perotta removes the cover and she and the others again all gasp, besides Izzy, of course.

The jars hold all of the victim's organs, and there is a small video with a post-it note that says "watch me now."

Perotta picks up the disk and waves it at everyone. "Grab your popcorn, everyone."

Meanwhile, in Angela's office…

Perotta puts the CD in and stands back next to the others.

Chef's picture pops up on screen. The video starts. "Hello, Jeffersonian. I just wanted to test you before our games really begin. As you know by now, the victim was mummified by me. But, before you celebrate solving the murder, I hope you take the next five minutes to get out of the lab, because things are about to blow!" The recording stops abruptly and they all look at each other confused.

Suddenly, theirs is a huge explosion that comes from the lab area. The force of the explosion sends everyone to the floor. The alarm goes off and the building is on lockdown. They are all knocked unconscious from the blast, leaving baby Michael in his crib crying loudly.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

TDL Season 2 Chapter Four: "The three men with three skills"

The Jeffersonian is finally not on fire. Booth and Sweets pull up in Booth's truck and run inside. They jet past the firefighters and FBI agents and see the gang on respirators. Angela and Cam, however, are on stretchers and are being wheeled out. Hodgins follows them with Michael in his arms. Bones has a few cuts and Izzy and Gwen have a few burn marks.

"Bones, what happened?" Booth says quickly.

"There was an explosion." Bones says as the paramedics apply alcohol to her wounds.

"Bones, you could've died. I need more than 'There was an explosion!'"

"Dr. Brennan, we need more specifics on what happened, that's all." Sweets adds on.

"We had solved the case, but we received a disk from Chef. We watched it and left the unchecked evidence out in the lab. He said something about something blowing up and then the next thing we know, we were all unconscious." Bones tells them.

"So, he wanted to kill you. It's as simple as that." Booth wipes his mouth and slam his hand on the wall. "I should've been here!"

Perotta walks up. "I'm sorry, Booth. You entrusted me with your team and I almost got them killed." Booth gives her a sharp look. "Anyway, Chef's intention was not to kill us, just to knock us out while someone else came and erased all work Angela did on the video. Chef was getting careless and then he had to delete her progress. But, the only way he could've known that-"

"Is if he had someone working with him on the inside!" Booth finishes her statement. "Perotta, have the techs grab every surveillance tape in the Jeffersonian since the day the cases started! I'll go and get some people to help us out in the meantime. Sweets, make sure they all get to the hospital!" Booth pulls out his phone as he runs out of the damaged lab.

Meanwhile, outside the lab…

Booth is running outside as a television news crew is getting the latest updates on the fire.

"Oh, wait, there's an agent now!" exclaims the blonde woman who was with Booth before. She and her cameraman run to Booth. "Agent Booth, is there any clue as to what caused the source of the fire?" she asks.

"No comment!" Booth yells as he gets in his truck and drives away.

Meanwhile, at the hospital…

Cam is in her bed and unconscious. Angela is next to her, but she slowly wakes up. She turns to her left to see Hodgins rocking Michael slightly to sleep.

"Hodgins….what happened?" she asks with a weak voice.

Hodgins looks up as he continues to rock his son to sleep. "Angie, don't talk. You should rest. I'll take Michael to your dad's and be back." Angela nods and drifts off to sleep as Hodgins leaves the room.

Meanwhile, at the diner…

Booth walks in and sees the two people he was looking for at a table waiting on him. He sits and Duncan and Max look him square in the eye, knowing the situation is serious.

"Ok, this Chef guy is really getting on my nerves, and he's destroyed the entire Jeffersonian lab, so here's the deal. No more science, no more examinations, and no more squints!" Booth says quietly but angrily.

"But I'm a squint." Duncan says.

"Look, you got your job by conning us, so you have some non squint uses. Look, I need you two to dig up what you can on Chef. Until the lab is back to normal, we can't rely on Bones and Hodgins to help us. This fight is going to the streets. I'm going to get more agents I know on this case, and I know another scientist who can help us. He's almost like Bones, but we'll be able to use him more easily. I'm going to get him a bit early." Booth stands to leave.

"What do you mean by early? And who is this guy?" Duncan asks.

"He was the one who was hired to replace Cam. That's all you need to know. Be at the reflecting pool tonight at ten!" Booth exclaims and rushes out the diner.

Max and Duncan stare at each other awkwardly.

Meanwhile, in the hospital…

Bones walks in and sees Angela sitting up. Bones takes a seat next to her.

"Hey, sweetie. Are you ok?" Angela asks.

"Ang, you're the one in the hospital bed, not me." Bones and Angela laugh. "But, I'm fine, how are you?"

"Still a little weak. My throat hurts less, though. I can't believe Booth let you come here alone. He's usually more protective of you."

"He didn't, he put Sweets in charge." Bones points to him at the door. "I looked at the charts the doctors had for you and Cam, and I was impressed by their clarity."

"Is everything ok with me?" Angela gets a little tense.

"Yes, but Cam will be out for some time until they can clear her lungs of all the smoke she inhaled from the fire." Bones and Angela look at Cam laying almost lifeless on the bed next to them.

Hodgins, Gwen, and Izzy walk in.

"Ang, you sure you're ok enough to sit up?" He asks and sits next to her.

"I'm fine, baby." She says and leans on his shoulder to rest. "How's Michael?"

"Sleeping soundly to your dad's rock music." The two of them laugh together. Bones and Gwen smile at them.

"This reminds me of the time I married a desert bandit to earn my freedom from slave-hood!" Izzy exclaims and does her signature maniacal laugh. The others look at her with looks of concern.

Meanwhile, in McKinley Psychiatric Hospital…

Booth drives up to the entrance and talks to the entry guard. He raises the gate and Booth drives in and parks. He gets out and heads straight into the building. He goes to the front desk.

"I need to see Dr. Zack Addy." Booth says as he flashes his badge to the receptionist.

Ten minutes later…

Booth and Zack are in his truck driving to Booth's apartment.

"I don't understand. Why can't I see the others?" Zack asks.

"Because, right now, we need some new faces to take down this Chef guy and you're the freshest, so there." Booth snaps at Zack.

"I can tell you're upset, but I won't mention that, I promise." Booth looks at Zack confused. "I know it's hard to believe, but I won't mention you're clearly exercising out your frustrations you have toward the Chef person at me. Nope, I won't mention that at all."

Booth just shakes his head.

Meanwhile, at the hospital…

The blonde woman walks into the room and joins the others. They all get quiet and stare at her.

"Are you a nurse?" Bones asks. "Because you're dressed wrong for that."

"No, I'm Booth's girlfriend." She says and Bones gives her a quick look of disdain. "I came to see how you all were doing? I'm Hannah, by the way."

"So, you decided to visit after you got your ratings?" Bones asks with a harsh inflection in her voice.

"Yeah." Hannah says with a similar tone.

The two of them glare at one another and the others are confused.

Meanwhile, at Booth's apartment…

Booth is standing in front of Duncan, Max, and Zack, who are all in chairs.

"Ok, each of you has a different skill I think we can use to catch Chef. Max, you still have a reputation in the illegal circles, correct?" Booth aims his hands at him. Max nods yes. Booth turns to Duncan. "And you, you can become an undercover operative and see if you can find any connections to him." Duncan nods as well. "And Zack, you're going to be our forensic member. I would rather have Bones stay away from this case as long as possible. So, you're my guy, got it?"

"Understood." Zack says.

The four of them sit in silence as it begins to rain outside.


	5. Chapter 5

TDL Season 2 Chapter Five: "The back up in the estate"

Bones, the interns (all except for Duncan), and Sweets pull up in Hodgins driveway. They head to the door and he and Angela greet them.

"Dr. Hodgins, what's this all about?" Bones asks.

"Trust me, sweetie, you'll be impressed with what Hodgins has done." Angela says. Bones reluctantly nods.

"Ok, follow us." Hodgins says.

They head into Hodgins' estate and straight to an elevator. Hodgins hits a button with "L" on it. After a few seconds the door opens revealing Hodgins' own personal lab. There's a lab table, one of Angela's screens, a mass spectrometer and an autopsy room.

"Welcome to Jeffersonian ground zero!" Hodgins exclaims. Bones and the interns walk through it.

"How long has this place existed?" Sweets asks.

"Since the days of Gormogon, when the lab was compromised. I had this place secretly made just in case of such an event were to happen again."

"You do know having an unsanctioned lab is illegal, right?"

"Whatever. This guy nearly killed us, and I want revenge. He thinks that he's won since we don't have the lab, but he didn't know we had a new one. So, we'll catch him off guard. It'll throw his game off enough that we'll have him tripping over his own feet."

Sweets gives Hodgins a look of concern before shrugging.

"So, Hodgins, what's our next move?" Gwen asks.

"Dr. Brennan." He gestures for her to speak.

"Our next move is to go to the old lab and collect as much evidence as we can from the debris." Bones says. Everyone nods.

Meanwhile, in Booth's office…

Booth is sitting at his desk going over the case files that involve Chef. Hannah and agent Perotta both walk in. Booth looks up and he looks mad.

"Sorry, Booth, she insisted." Perotta says before leaving.

"Hey, how are you?" Hannah asks.

"I'm fine, just trying to catch this guy before he blows up another building!" Booth's voice raises.

"Relax, trigger. You'll get this guy." She walks to him and kisses the side of his head. "Remember, you've beaten guys like him before. Like Broadsky, the guy you used to serve with."

Booth bolts up after she mentions him.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about your past." Hannah says.

"No, you just gave me a great idea!" Booth kisses her and runs out the door. "Perotta, I need a favor!"

Meanwhile, at the Jeffersonian…

Bones, Hodgins, and the interns are scattered about the wreckage. Hodgins bags samples of the ash and powder near where the explosion originated. Bones and the interns search for any remnants of the previous victim's organs.

"Hodgins, where did Angela and Sweets go?" Bones yells from the other side of the lab.

"Her and Sweets went to check up on Cam!" Hodgins yells back.

Gwen and Chris pull over a piece of the ceiling and it reveals that a person went unaccounted for. "Dr. Brennan!" they both yell to her.

Bones and Hodgins run over and recognize who the guy is.

"This is the man who delivered the organ jars to us." Bones states.

"But what's he doing here?" Hodgins asks.

Owen, Izzy, and Harold walk over with bits of some of the organs.

"We found some trace brain matter and tissue from the lungs and kidneys, but nothing else." Harold says.

"Ok, Owen, help me get this guy up." Hodgins and Owen lift the man and reveal the knife in his back. The two of them look to Dr. Brennan.

"I don't understand, why would someone go out of their way to kill this man." Bones says.

"I think he was an accomplice of Chef's. But, as for why he was killed, maybe we can get that from the evidence." Hodgins tells her and she nods.

They load the body in Bones' car and head back to Hodgins' lab.

Meanwhile, in D.C. maximum security prison…

Booth sits at a small table and is face to face with the man who tried to kill him not too long ago.

"Hello, Broadsky." Booth says with a stern face.

"Booth, what brings you here? Think I killed someone else again?" Broadsky asks mockingly.

"On the contrary, I want your help in that department. You like the whole "divine for God mission speech," right? Well, there's a new killer out there who likes killing women who didn't deserve to die."

"What's in it for me? I want something in return. A blessing comes to those who do the, what you called it, "divine for God mission." So, what's my blessing going to be?" Broadsky leans forward.

"Tell you what, you can be blessed with some time off your sentence or with a removal of the death sentence off your head. You choose." Booth gets up and heads to the door and turns around. "Call me when you get a chance." Booth walks out the door.

Meanwhile, at Hodgins' lab…

Hodgins and Harold are studying the results of the residue he collected. Bones and the interns are looking over the body.

"The marks over the neck are congruent with the victim being strangled." Owen says.

"The lack of hemorrhagic staining where the knife was suggest that it was planted there to make it look like that was cause of death." Chris adds.

"But Chef is smarter than that. He may have another accomplice. There was earlier mention of a possible inside man. Whoever it is, they slipped up." Bones says.

"Dr. Brennan, the residue from the crime scene was from C4 grade gun powder that was diluted so as not to kill us completely. Do you think Chef meant for that to happen or no?" Hodgins asks her.

"It's too early to tell that, exactly, but after more investigation, things will probably be explained more." She answers with.

Meanwhile, in downtown D.C….

Max and Zack are standing between two apartment buildings. Duncan is punching some guy for information.

"Now, do you know of anyone new in town?" Duncan asks, his voice close to a yell.

"I swear, I don't know." The man says. Duncan punches him again and he hits the ground hard.

Max walks up behind him. "I have a better idea." Max picks up the guy and pins him against the wall. The man slowly lifts his head. "Ok, I know you know who we're talking about, but maybe you don't know what that information means to us." Max pulls out a small knife. "Now, this man almost killed my daughter, so I'm willing to kill to protect her, I've done it before. So, every time you 'I don't know,' I'm going to slice off something, and trust me, I have a steady hand, so I'll take a long time cutting it off, too." Max gets right in his face. "Now, is there someone new in town?"

Manwhile, in Booth's office…

Booth sits at his desk and his phone rings. Booth answers right away.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth." He says.

"I've decided my blessing is to be spared the death penalty." Broadsky says with his low, intimidating voice.

"Smart man. Now, I'll be there to pick you up tomorrow." Booth hangs up immediately.

Meanwhile, at Hodgins' lab…

Sweets and Angela walk in really fast.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Hodgins asks. Everyone turns to them.

"Cam is missing from the hospital." Sweets says.


	6. Chapter 6

TDL Season 2 Chapter Six: "The criminal in the FBI"

Bones walks into Hodgins' house and Angela greets her at the door with a hug. They go down to the lab where Hodgins and Chris are already at work. Bones walks up and puts on her lab coat.

"Chris, you're here early," Bones states.

"I'm not gonna let this Chef bitch get away with murdering these hot girls!" Chris exclaims.

Bones and Hodgins exchange funny looks at his declaration.

"So, I made no new head way with the delivery guy. Anything you can get from the bones is our only hope now." Hodgins goes to fetch the remains from the tank of flesh eating beetles.

Owen and Harold walk in.

"Hey, guys. How are you?" Hodgins asks them.

"I'm fine. Now I'm here to show off my skills," Harold sates boldly.

"I'm gonna work so hard that I'll eat five buffets out of business when this is over," Owen adds on his own oath.

Bones looks at the interns and smiles at their determination to solve the case.

Meanwhile, in Booth's office…

Max, Zack, and Duncan are all standing in Booth's office, and Booth is sitting on his office desk. An agent walks Broadsky in wearing handcuffs. The agent nods at Booth and walks away.

Broadsky looks at the other three and takes in their faces, and then he turns to Booth.

"So, Seeley, ever gonna get these things off of me, or am I going to help by being handicapped?" Broadsky asks Booth, the intention to anger Booth in his voice.

"That's exactly what's going to happen. I don't trust you with hands around my friends, and if you keep talking, I'll make it so that your feet aren't usable, either. Understand?" Booth says and gets in Broadsky's face.

Max pushes them apart. "Ok, we can't work together if there's no trust, and besides, I'm an ex criminal, so I'll know the game this guy's trying to play," he says to Booth, then turns to Broadsky. "And you, stop egging Booth on before you're declared an accident in the FBI records!"

Broadsky gives Max a hardy look but backs off after looking in Max's eyes. He learns that Max does not fool around.

"Ok, we need to find Bones and the squint squad before we do anything else. That guy from last night didn't give us much besides there was a guy working in the industrial area, and we need proof that links him there for a search warrant. Broadsky, you're with me, you three, get back out there." Booth says and he and Broadsky leave.

Max, Zack, and Duncan walk out and go in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Bones, Owen, and Chris are going over the bones. Angela is searching the FBI top secret archives and Hodgins walks up to her side.

"Hey Angie, what's this about?" Hodgins asks.

"The FBI has this thing where all evidence on my computer is automatically saved to their database, so I'm hacking their server to download a copy of the video I was working on decoding," Angela says.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Oh, this coming from Mr. unsanctioned lab guy!" she says mockingly. They both giggle sweetly.

Harold walks up holding the shoes of the delivery guy.

"Dr. Hodgins, I found some traces of metal that is used for industrial uses. This type of metal is most consistent with the industrial park in D.C.," Harold says and puts the shoes on the table.

"Great job, Harold," Hodgins exclaims and pats Harold on his shoulder.

"Hodgins, the bones don't make sense. The victim's bones don't have any injuries that would come from being buried under debris from an explosion. He was definitely placed there purposefully. I'm starting to think that-" Bones' phone rings and cuts her off. She answers. "Brennan."

"Hey, this is Sweets. We asked the doctors when they last saw Cam, and they said it was the day after the explosion. They said there was an emergency and they left to take care of it. When they came back to change her respirator, she was gone."

"Ok, thanks, Sweets." Bones turns to Angela and Hodgins. "There was an apparent emergency and Cam went missing in the commotion." Bones heads to the door.

"Sweetie, where are you going?" Angela asks.

"To the hospital and see what the emergency was," she says.

"You don't trust Sweets?"

"No, but I'll take Gwen and Izzy with me." Bones walks out leaving Angela totally dumb-founded.

Meanwhile, at the hospital…

Bones is talking to the doctors. Gwen and Izzy walk up.

"Are you saying that the emergency that took all of you doctors on this floor to handle was just two slightly injured gunshot victims that only required twenty two stitches each?" Bones asks.

"Well, the actual gunman was there, too. He got away," the doctor says. "Now, I've been polite and answered some of your questions. Now, if you aren't FBI, please vacate the hospital grounds."

"Well, I'm FBI, and I think you should come with me." The doctor turns around to see Booth and Broadsky behind him.

Bones and Booth are surprised for a second to see each other and both turn their attention to the doctor.

Later, in the interrogation room…

Bones and Booth are sitting across from the doctor. Gwen, Izzy, and Broadsky are in the watching room. Broadsky is chained to the wall.

"Now, can you describe the gunman at all?" Booth asks.

"Yes, he was about 5'8", had brown hair, and appeared to have a physical disorder of some kind, like scoliosis or he had a horrible nervous system," the doctor answers.

"That was kind of specific," Booth challenges.

"Booth, he's a doctor. That was just a simple diagnosis," Bones says. The doctor laughs at Booth's ignorance.

Booth quickly glares at him and the doctor stops.

"Is there something else that you noticed that could help us at all?" Booth asks.

"I'm not sure, but the gunman was wearing a grey ski mask. It had the letters "TDA" italicized on the front. Am I free to go now?" the doctor asks.

"Just get comfortable," Booth says and he and Bones leave the room and join up with Izzy, Gwen, and Broadsky. "I'll take Broadsky with me and I'll get this information to the press. You guys stay where I can find you," he says and unchains Broadsky and the group leave.

Meanwhile, at Hodgins' lab…

Sweets walks in as Owen, Chris, and Harold are leaving for the day. He joins Hodgins and Angela in their livingroom. Angela is rocking Michael to sleep.

"So, how's the decoding going?" Sweets asks.

"I have to start all over. The FBI archive's were only able to save the original message, but not the progress I made, so I'll be cranky starting tomorrow," Angela says.

"And I'm still going over the victim's clothes. So far, there's nothing else but what was on the victim's shoes. This Chef guy is getting on all of our nerves," Hodgins leans back and sighs.

Sweets takes a deep breath and looks out the window.


	7. Chapter 7

TDL Season 2 Chapter Seven: "The trapdoor in the mirror"

Booth walks away from Hannah after giving her the information on the gunman. Hannah starts her report and Booth and Broadsky watch her. Broadsky turns to Booth slightly.

"You hitting that, Seeley?" Broadsky asks jokingly.

Booth gives Broadsky a hardy look and Broadsky smiles before turning away.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' livingroom…

Hodgins and Angela are kissing on the couch and Gwen walks in the door. The two of them straighten up immediately.

"Hey, guys. Is Dr. B here?"

"No, but what's up," Angela asks.

"I thought she would be here going over the remains again and I wanted to help her."

"No, she and Chris went down. We just decided to stay up here for a while," Hodgins says.

Gwen gives him a coy smile and heads to the lab. Hodgins and Angela continue making out once she's gone.

Meanwhile, in the industrial park…

Cam slowly wakes up, tied to a chair and sees nothing around her but beams, oil stains, and various weapons on the ground close to her. A fist collides with Cam's jaw from her left side. Cam spits out blood and looks at her attacker. It's none other than the notorious Gravedigger.

"Good morning, Dr. Saroyan," the Gravedigger says. "It's been forever since we saw each other, why don't you tell me what you and the rest of the Jeffersonian gang has been up to." She kneels in Cam's face.

"If I were you, I would let me go before the wrong person learns where I am," Cam says with a hardy expression.

"Oh, don't think for one second I want you to go unfound," the Gravedigger stands up straight and keeping her glare zoned in on Cam. "I want your friends to come running after me." The Gravedigger turns Cam around to see a guy tied to a chair, unconscious.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That is the gunman I hired to cause a distraction while I kidnapped you. I know it'll be soon enough before Booth and Dr. Brennan figure it out," she turns Cam back around.

"I want you to know that I wasn't talking about them," Cam says and stares into the Gravedigger's eyes.

"Well, whoever it is, they'll die along with you, because I've given my accomplice, little Cody over there, a C4 pill, and its remote activated." The Gravedigger pulls out the trigger. When someone comes in, a sensor placed in one of the many entrances goes off and this device beeps. When that beep goes off, I press the button and boom!"

Cam starts to sweat.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Hodgins and Angela come in. Bones, Gwen, and Chris are sitting over the body. They turn to Hodgins and Angela.

"All the evidence from this body has been cataloged. Nothing else is going to help us find Chef unless we search the industrial park," Bones says.

"Ok, call Booth. Angie, you start on the video. I'll take Gwen and Chris with me to the industrial park ahead of you," Hodgins says.

"But Hodgins, is that safe?" Bones asks.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," he says. He kisses Angela and walks out with Gwen and Chris. Angela looks at him leave with a look of extreme worry.

"Relax, Ang, I'm sure he'll be ok. It's Hodgins we're talking about," Bones says to Angela.

Angela looks away but her worry doesn't go away.

Meanwhile, in Booth's office…

Booth is going over some papers when Zack and Max walk in. He puts the papers down and stands up.

"Where's Duncan?" Booth asks.

"He's still out on the street, we decided to come back to tell you that we may have found a lead," Zack says and steps back as Max steps forward.

"There are some rumors that Chef has an accomplice. It's also been told that Chef competes in underground fighting." Max rubs his head. "He's undefeated."

"I'll take him down," Booth says.

"Booth, slow down, that place is full of criminals. If you go there, you'll be torn to pieces!" Max exclaims.

"And I'm one hundred percent sure being torn to pieces would kill you," Zack adds on.

Booth squeezes his nose.

"Just have Broadsky go and do it," Max says.

"I can't trust him to do that. He might turn and run, and Broadsky drives a hard bargain. He'll ask for full immunity once we ask him to fight Chef. Besides, there's no guarantee that Broadsky can take this guy down," Booth says and stops to think.

"Booth?" Zack asks quietly.

Booth looks up at them. "I have an idea. Zack, you go and tell Bones what we've found out. Max, you and I will go and talk to Broadsky about the fighting." Booth walks out and Max and Zack follow him.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the industrial park…

Hodgins pulls up to the front gate, and him, Gwen, and Chris get out of his car.

"Hodgins, maybe we shouldn't do this," Gwen says. "What if Chef is in there, or better yet, waiting on us?"

Hodgins thinks about it and then looks at the two interns. He sees their scared faces and looks down. He lifts his head up and sighs. "Fine, let's go."

The three of them get back in the car and Hodgins drives them away.

Meanwhile, in Bones' apartment…

Bones is cooking while Angela puts Michael in his mobile crib. There's a knock on the door and Angela goes to get it. Bones takes off her gloves and follows her to the door. Angela opens the door and her and Bones flinch upon seeing Zack.

"Zack," Angela jumps and hugs him.

"Zack, what are you doing here?" Bones asks with a smile on her face.

"I was the one who was going to replace Dr. Saroyan as the head of the Jeffersonian. Booth intercepted me and then I started helping him, along with your dad and some strange guy named Duncan." Zack walks in and sits on the couch.

Bones closes the door and her and Angela sit across from him.

"So, what exactly have you guys been doing with Booth?" Bones asks as she goes back to the kitchen.

"He recruited the three of us to help him locate Chef by going underground. Booth had to explain to me several times that he didn't mean 'underground' literally," Zack says.

Angela laughs and Zack looks at her confused.

"What's so funny?"

"The fact that Booth took you out on the streets. I think you should come and work with us in the lab," Angela says.

"But didn't the Jeffersonian blow up?"

Bones sets the table for three. "It did, but Hodgins had a secret lab in the basement of his estate. I think you'll be more useful with us. By the way, I saw Booth with Broadskt the other day. Do you know what that was about?" Bones asks.

Angela drops her jaw.

"Ok, I'll explain that now," Zack says.

Meanwhile, in the interrogation room…

Booth and Max sit across from Broadsky, who is handcuffed.

"So, Seeley, what's next?" Broadsky asks them.

"This is where you come in. We need you to fight Chef long enough for us to come in and catch him in the act. Can you do that?" Booth asks.

"It's gonna cost you, Seeley."

Booth sighs and looks Broadsky in the eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

TDL Season 2 Chapter Eight: "The death of a digger"

Booth, Max, and Broadsky are caught in a super tense inside the interrogation room.

"Seeley, you've been dragging me all over with these chains on. If you want me to fight this guy, then they have to come off, and I mean forever. I want diplomatic immunity," Broadsky boldly demands.

"I'll get you your immunity, but I'll be the one in charge of it. That way, if you make a single misstep, I'll hunt you down all I want," Booth says and he and Broadsky glare at each other.

Broadsky extends his hand as far as he can. "Do we have a deal?"

Booth reluctantly shakes Broadsky's hand and then shoots up immediately. "We'll be back to get you when the time is right, so take a nap!"

Booth and Max walk out of the room and into the hall where Sweets is waiting.

"Hey, Sweets," Booth says. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," Sweets stops Booth from walking away. "You do know that Cam is missing, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then how come you're putting all the agents on the trail of Chef?"

"Sweets, just trust me on this one," Booth looks at Sweets who is giving him a hardy look. "Sorry, Sweets, but I'm going to get the warrant to search the industrial park. You meet us there tomorrow, but I wouldn't mention Cam again."

Sweets shakes his head and walks away. Booth watches him leave and shrugs it off. Booth and Max head in the other direction.

Meanwhile, in the industrial park…

"Well, looks like your knight in shining armor isn't coming for you," the Gravedigger heads for the exit. "Have a nice night," she says as she leaves.

Cam looks around and thinks _"I need to get out of here!"_

The next day, at Bones' apartment…

Bones, Angela, Hodgins, and Zack are eating breakfast. Hodgins and Zack are goofing around, just like the old days before Cam came to town. Bones and Angela are laughing at the pair reminisce.

"Zack, how did you manage to get accepted as the Jeffersonians new boss?" Hodgins asks.

"I was sent an application in the mail and I filled it out. A month later, I got the job," Zack says.

"When did that happen?" Angela asks.

"Nine months ago tomorrow."

"Then Cam was already set to be replaced shortly after we left," Bones mentions.

"Yes, that's correct."

"Cam isn't that bad, besides, she had Gwen and Harold with her. And the two of them are pretty good at their jobs," Angela says, confused at the situation.

"I agree. That's also been a key missing point in this theory I've been developing. I think that-" a knock at the door cuts her off.

Bones goes and opens it to see Booth standing there with her father.

"What are you guys doing here?" Bones asks.

"Bones, we need the evidence that you guys have collected up until now to get a search warrant for the industrial park," Booth demands.

"And hi, honey, how are you?" Max chimes in.

"I'm fine, and how did you know we had evidence at all?" Bones questions him. "Did you have your reporter friend spy on us?"

"No, I had him follow you," Booth points to the window.

Bones and the others turn around and see Duncan on a tree branch outside the window. He waves at them and smiles.

"Now, as for Hodgins," Booth walks over and puts Hodgins in handcuffs. "That unsanctioned lab you have is a federal offense, pal!" Hodgins sighs as Booth drags him away.

"Booth, stop!" Angela yells to him. He turns to her.

"If you're going to arrest Hodgins, than you're going to have to arrest me, too, because I'm not letting him leave without me!" Angela walks to him and holds out her hands. "Plus, I hacked into the FBI archives and stole files." She turns to Bones. "Watch Michael while we're gone." Bones nods to her and she smiles.

Booth puts Angela in cuffs, too. "Max, go with Bones to that lab and get the evidence." Booth walks out the door with Hodgins and Angela.

Bones puts her jacket on. "Ok dad, let's go. Zack, stay here and watch Michael, and make sure Duncan doesn't steal anything."

Bones and Max leave and Zack turns to stare at Duncan who slips into the house through the window.

Meanwhile, in the FBI building…

Booth puts both Hodgins and Angela in cells across from each other.

"C'mon, Booth, have a heart. At least put us in cells next to one another," Hodgins says.

"Not a chance," Booth says and walks away.

Hodgins and Angela exchange glances and sigh.

Outside, in the lobby…

Booth walks out to find Perotta at sitting in his office. He walks over to her and sits on the edge of his desk.

"What are you doing here?" Booth asks blatantly.

"I came because I want in on this Chef bust you have planned. He almost killed me and I don't want to take that sitting down. I'm sure you understand," Perotta says.

Booth smiles. "I do," he states.

Sweets knocks and walks in.

"And I'm going, too."

"I don't think so Sweets." Booth says harshly. "Too dangerous for you."

"But didn't you just agree to take Perotta out there?"

"Yes, but difference is, I trust Perotta to handle herself more than you. Besides, if you were to get hurt, I'd be upset at myself for taking you out there."

"Well, that's too bad, because I'm going with you. Whether you like it or not." Sweets steps into the office with a firm look in his eyes.

"Fine, but if you die, I'm killing you again in heaven!" Booth exclaims.

Later, in Booth's office…

Booth, Sweets, and Perotta are waiting on the judges' call. Booth's phone rings and he jumps on it.

"Booth," he says and listens to the person on the other end. "Ok, thanks." Booth hangs up the phone. "We have the warrant. Max is going to meet us there, let's go."

The three of them head out to the industrial park.

Later, at the entrance to the industrial park…

Booth pulls up and him, Sweets, and Perotta get out and meet up with Max and Bones.

"Bones, what are you doing here?" Booth asks, surprised at her presence.

"I think I should be asking why Sweets is here," Bones states.

"Max, really? You know how dangerous this is," Booth tries to sway him.

"Sorry, but she insisted," Max says and turns to Bones. "Honey, it would be better if you at least stayed out here."

"Fine," she says and blows her breathe.

"Sweets, you stay here and protect Bones," Booth says.

"No, you're just trying to get rid of me," Sweets argues.

"Look, I need someone I can depend on to protect Bones while the three of us go inside, ok?" Booth says to him. Sweets calms down and nods. "Ok, now, let's go."

Booth, Perotta, and Max head into the industrial park. They enter into the warehouse and the sensor goes off.

Meanwhile, on a rooftop not far away…

"Are you sure you want to do this?" says the person holding the remote, with a very deep and vibrating voice.

"Yes," Cam says slowly as she turns away.

The mystery man holds up the trigger.

Meanwhile, back in the warehouse…

Booth and the other two stop when they see a bloodied Gravedigger in the chair where Cam once was.

"Wait…" Booth says and takes a closer look at the body. He slightly panics. "Run!"

The three of them run toward the exit.

The body behind the Gravedigger's explodes and the whole warehouse goes up in flames. The force of the explosion knocks Sweets and Bones a few feet away. Bones gets up right away and runs toward the flames.

"Booth!" she yells over and over as she runs into the burning building.


	9. Chapter 9

TDL Season 2 Chapter Nine: "The sniper who became Rocky"

Bones and Sweets are watching the tv news report being given by Hannah. Bones' eyes are teary and Sweets rubs her arm.

"Two days, an explosion occurred in the industrial park, which killed agents Seeley Booth," Hannah wipes her eyes. "Perotta, Max Keenan, Heather Taffet, and Cody. The two people slightly injured at the scene were Drs. Temperance Brennan and Lance Sweets." Hannah wipes her eyes and signals for cut.

Bones cuts off the tv with her left hand. Her other hand is in a cast.

"I think we should head to the funeral now, Dr. Brennan," Sweets says and lifts her up slowly and the two head out the door.

Later, at the funeral…

Bones and Sweets are standing apart from the other agents around the caskets. Caroline is giving a speech about Booth, Max, and Perotta.

Broadsky walks up next to them, followed by Hodgins, Angela, Zack, Russ Brennan, and the interns.

Bones turns to Broadsky. "What are you doing here?"

"You may not believe me, but I actually miss Seeley. He was a pain in the ass, but without him, there's no one good enough to challenge me fully," Broadsky says dryly.

Bones doesn't know what to say and just turns her attention back to the funeral.

Later, in Hodgins' livingroom…

Hodgins is consoling Angela on the couch, Zack is sitting next to them with his head down, the interns are all sitting on the floor around the floor.

"Guys, Dr. Brennan still isn't back. I don't know if she's changed since I've been away, but she usually has an easy time moving on and rationalizing things of this nature," Zack says.

"Yeah, but she lost two people she loved, Zack, so, give her a break this time," Hodgins says.

Zack nods and looks down and then to the window. Sweets is walking toward the door.

Meanwhile, in Bones' apartment…

Russ is sitting on the couch, while Bones and Broadsky are in the kitchen. Bones is drinking orange juice.

"Look, I know Booth gave you immunity that can only be revoked by him, so why are you still here? He's dead, and you're a free man," Bones says and sips her drink.

"Look, I made a deal with Seeley, and despite the fact I really want to leave, I won't. Booth died, so I'm going to at least honor my end of it. But after that, I'm out of here," Broadsky leaves the kitchen and heads to the door.

"So, what are you going to do?" Russ asks.

"I'm going to finish what I started and go fight Chef," he says without turning around and leaves the apartment.

Bones comes into the living room and pulls out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a call," Bones puts the phone to her ear.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' apartment…

Sweets is standing in the doorway and everyone is looking at him with serious faces. Hodgins stands and walks to Sweets and whispers in his ear. The two of them head down to his lab. Angela and the others look at each with confused faces.

"I don't think that's going to work. Chef seems overly careful and experienced in this sort of thing," Zack says.

"I think if they could incorporate my skills more fully in this plan, than it would work," Harold says.

"You guys should relax, things have been planned down to a tee. I'm sure Broadsky is off to fight Chef right now," Duncan says and leans back.

The others look to him confused, all except for Zack, who smiles.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Hodgins and Sweets are standing pretty close to each other.

"So, we need someone who can execute that part. Can you do it?" Sweets asks quietly.

"Yeah, I can do it, but Angela can't know about it. So, when do I need to be there?" Hodgins asks in return.

"In less than four hours, so just head straight out and don't give Angela a chance to stop you."

Hodgins nods and he and Sweets head up the elevator. They run right out the door, leaving the others dumb founded.

Meanwhile, in the underground ring…

Chef is beating some guy to near death and Cam is watching from the stands. The crowd is cheering "Chef!" over and over again.

Broadsky walks in and stands between two bleachers. Cam sees him and sneaks out, but he sort of sees a glimpse of her before she vanishes.

Chef throws his opponent out of the ring and the guy is bloody and unconscious. Broadsky looks at the nearly dead man and back at Chef who gets all in his face.

"I don't think I've seen your face around here before!" he yells in Broadsky's face.

"I'm new. I heard there was a thing going down and couldn't resist coming over," Broadsky says as he walks past Chef and enters the ring. "Are you coming or what?" Broadsky throws his jacket and coat off.

Chef smiles and turns around.

Meanwhile, outside of the arena…

A small SWAT unit is getting ready to infiltrate the place and arrest Chef. Cam watches from a store across the street and knows that something is up. She walks away.

Meanwhile, back in the arena…

Chef and Broadsky are walking along the edges of the ring and studying each other. Broadsky makes a swift move and charges Chef. Chef tries to kick him but Broadksy ducks and uppercuts Chef in the face, and then does a roundhouse kick, which connects to the right side of Chef's face and knocking him to the ground. The crowd get rowdy.

Chef rolls back and gets right back up. He wipes his chin and runs at Broadsky.

Meanwhile, on a roof not far from the arena…

Hodgins and Sweets are on the roof. Hodgins is looking through binoculars and can see the fight.

"Ok, I can see them now. Sweets, you should get over there. Especially if you want to prove yourself," Hodgins says.

Sweets pats Hodgins' shoulder and walks away.

"Ok, I see them fighting. You better hurry, Broadsky's in trouble," Hodgins says into a walkee talkee.

A shadow comes over Hodgins and he turns around. The butt of a gun heads straight toward him.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot outside the arena…

Three people walk up behind a van. One pulls off his mask and it's none other than Booth.

"Ok, thanks Hodgins, we're going in!" Booth exclaims and waves his hand forward and he and the other SWAT members run toward the entrance.

Meanwhile, inside the arena…

Broadsky is bruised and Chef is, too. Broadsky stalls and Chef runs towards him, but he sees Booth come from behind him. Chef stops and looks around. The SWAT team has the whole crowd pinned with guns and Booth goes to Broadsky's side.

"I didn't think you would do it if you thought I was dead," Booth says.

"Call it a favor to a friend, Seeley," Broadsky responds with.

Booth goes and puts Chef in hand cuffs and merandizes him. He gets another cop to take Chef away. Booth pulls out the walkee talkee as Sweets arrives too late.

"Alright, Hodgins, we got him!" he exclaims. There's a slight pause. Sweets looks concerned. "Hodgins? Hodgins?"


	10. Chapter 10

TDL Season 2 Chapter Ten: "The King in the Lab"

Hodgins is strapped to a table and looks around. There are lots of blades around hanging on hooks and a saw on the table next to him. He tries to get loose but the straps are too tightly fastened.

"You can stop, there's no way you're escaping," a woman's voice says. She walks up to Hodgins and he sees that the woman is Cam.

"Cam?" he asks confused.

"Yep, I was working with Chef since I learned that the FBI was going to replace me."

"You're nuts!"

"Well, that's true. I've been taking all of your crap for years, and I've had enough of it."

Hodgins rolls his eyes. "You know what, whatever. When people find out where I am, you're dead."

Cam grabs the saw. "Trust me, they won't find you." She starts the saw.

Meanwhile, in the DC courthouse…

The judge is listening as Booth and the team each give their testimonies against Chef. Eventually, Angela comes up to the stand.

"I have hard evidence that Chef was the one who threatened us and was the one who initiated the explosion of the Jeffersonian." Angela clicks play on the video.

It plays crystal clear in audio and video. The jury studies the video carefully.

"That's all I have for now." Angela stops the video and leaves the stand.

"Jury, begin your deliberations," the judge orders.

The jury goes into their room to debate the defendants' case.

Later, in the DC courthouse…

The jury comes out and hands their letter to the judge. The gang are all on edge as the judge opens the envelope.

"The jury hereby finds the defendant," there's a small pause and he looks at the jury. "Guilty." The gang jumps up excitedly and Angela runs out right away.

Bones, Booth, Zack, and Gwen go after her as the cops take Chef into custody. Sweets and the other interns watch them run out the door.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Angela is at the head of the lab table with the others looking at her.

"Ok, my husband and the father on my only child is missing, so I'm a mess right now! How I got through that court case was a miracle! Now, how do we find Hodgins," Angela exclaims.

"Ok, he vanished within the last part of the massive arrest, so we have a time period to work with," Gwen says.

"I've had my guys out all day looking for him, including Perotta and Max," Booth states.

"Is there anything that forensics can tell us that can lead us to Hodgins?" Angela asks.

"I don't have much to go on, besides, we don't know where Hodgins was when he vanished," Bones says.

Booth's face lights up and the others turn to him. "I know someone who knows where Hodgins was before he went missing. I'll text you guys when I figure out where." Booth runs out of the lab.

Meanwhile, in Cam's hidden chamber…

Hodgins is still on the table, strapped down completely. Cam lowers the saw closer to his legs. Hodgins closes his eyes and the saw cuts off suddenly. Cam turns around and sees the plug came out of the wall.

"Damn it," she says and pulls the table closer and goes to plug the saw back in.

"_I hope they find me soon enough,"_ Hodgins thinks to himself. He turns to Cam as she struggles to put the plug in, even though it is a very simple task. "So, why me? Why nobody else?" Hodgins asks. Hodgins tries to slowly undo the strap over his chest.

Cam drops the plug and sits on the edge of the table across from Hodgins. "Because since the very beginning of last season's first chapter, you've been nothing but cruel to me," Cam exclaims.

"Cam, that's not true. Remember recently when it was your last week or so, and I gave you an actual sincere send off?"

"Yes, but you can't honestly say that you aren't happy to see that I'm leaving."

"Maybe, but its Zack. You can't say that maybe he's a better boss to have than you."

"You're so dead." Cam goes back and plugs in the saw.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

Angela's phone rings and she answers immediately.

"Booth, what's the word?" Angela asks frantically.

"Sweets said he was on the roof of an old store with two windows broken out in the front. The letters on the front were A, D, W, R, F, H.," Booth tells her. "Meet us there."

Angela hangs up right away. "Ok, let's go." Her and the others head to the exit.

Meanwhile, at the abandoned store…

The team is all on the roof of the abandoned store. There are spots of blood on the ground.

"Ok, these spots of blood could possibly be from both Hodgins and whoever attacked him, or from just Hodgins or from just the attacker," Bones says.

Zack swabs the spots and bags the swabs. "We should hurry."

They all rush back to the lab.

Meanwhile, in Hodgins' lab…

They are all anxiously waiting for the results to appear on screen. They all react slowly to the pictures of both Hodgins and Cam on screen.

"Ok, I'll notify all squads out there to add Cam to their search as well," Booth pulls out his phone and steps out of the room.

"And while he's doing that, can someone tell me what that beeping thing at the bottom of the screen is?" Angela asks everyone.

"The machine picked up on something else other than blood," Bones grabs the remote from Angela and opens up the file.

They all look closer at the result and learn that none of them recognize what it is.

"Wait, I think I know what that is," Gwen runs upstairs, leaving Bones and Angela confused. Zack just stands there with a blank expression on his face.

Gwen comes back down with a notebook that has Hodgins' name inside of a heart. Angela rolls her eyes.

"Sorry, Angela. Anyway, Hodgins was teaching me about identifying particulates and other substances and gave me this journal." She flips through the pages and stops to show the others. Angela snatches it from her and they all see what it is.

"Booth! Booth, we know where Hodgins is!" Angela runs out of the room to find Booth.

Meanwhile, in Cam's hidden chamber…

Broadsky is wiping off the saw and then grabs both the handles. Hodgins sits and watches him do that. Parts of Cam are scattered all across the room. They both hear the sirens and turn toward the exit.

"Ok, they'll link me to the crime. You just need to say you tried to save her. So, I have to make it look convincing." Broadsky balls his fists.

Hodgins swallows hard and reluctantly gets up. Broadsky stomps on his foot, elbows his gut and knees his face. Hodgins falls over and holds the left half of his head.

"Good luck," Broadsky says as he runs away.

Booth and Bones run in with a group of field agents behind them. Bones helps up Hodgins. Angela rushes in and hugs him. Hodgins pretends not to be hurt.

"What happened here?" Booth asks as he counts the number of parts that Cam is in.

"Broadsky came in and saved me at the last minute. I tried to stop him from killing Cam, but he wouldn't let me get in the way," Hodgins answers.

"Why didn't he kill you, too?"

"He said it was a favor to you for not arresting him when he participated in illegal fighting."

"Well, he killed Cam, so I'll be going after him now." Booth turns to Hodgins. "Way to hang in there, King of the Lab." Booth turns away to consult with the other agents.

"Let's get to the hospital," Hodgins says before almost falling to the ground, but Angela and Gwen catch him.

Angela and Gwen both carry Hodgins out and Bones and Zack follow behind them.

The End.


End file.
